(I like this series. :) )
I could tell multiple stories related to driving from Kansas to Illinois in somewhat less than road-worthy cars with six kids and having car trouble and nice people helping us. But the story I really want to tell was something I observed and it has always stayed with me.

About 10 years or so ago I was at a conference in Chicago, but I stayed with my brother in Kenosha, Wis. and rode the train in each day (saved on hotel cost). One night on the train back there was a woman with a bunch of little kids and she realized her train pass wasn't going to get them all the way to their stop. She talked to the conductor (or whatever he's called) and he didn't have a solution for her. Then a business man offered her the unused portion of his pass -- apparently he had enough left on his pass to get him to his stop and then some. So her problem was solved.

I've always remembered this little scene of common grace. If you've ever ridden the train in Chicago, you know that most people keep to themselves. The woman and her kids were in a completely different social strata than the businessman. I think they were of a minority. The businessman's stop was in one of the wealthier northern suburbs, if I remember correctly. And he very kindly offered the rest of his train pass, with no fuss. He worked it out with conductor and everything was fine. I thought that was neat.

The first event that came to mind was my car accident. A tractor trailor decided it preferred my lane on the highway and switched without looking to see that I was right next to him. Needless to say, it was a pretty horrific accident.

As I sat in what was left of my car waiting for an ambulance, the silence was incredible (the busy highway was at a standstill as pieces of my car covered all lanes) and time seemed to have stopped. My only prayer at that moment was "God, please send somebody". I knew there were people around, I just didn't know if anyone would come up to me or not.

Soon a woman approached and started talking with me. (There was nothing else she could do at that point.) Then she knelt and prayed for me. She didn't know if I was a believer or not and she didn't ask if she could pray for me. She just prayed . . . out loud. I thought, "Of course, God would send one of His own family!"

Shortly after that I was rushed off by helicopter to a trauma center. In my shock from the accident, I wasn't communicating much and I never found out who she was. But just standing by me while we waited for help meant the world to me. And she has no idea that her arrival was a direct answer to my prayer. I wish I could tell her, but I guess I'll just have to leave that up to God.

I've done that before, been the first to stop at an accident, called 911 and prayed with the people til help got there. More than once.

We all should.

Thank God for common grace. I can't recall any huge instances of stranger's being helpful, but there have been plenty of small things. It all makes such a difference.

A few years ago we took a vacation "out west" and had a conversion van so we took everything but the kitchen sink (but we DID take a dry-sink and counter)...

One of the things I packed was 2 extra gallons of coolant. As we were driving up Colorado National Monument I was talking to the kids about how God has put people in our way to encourage and help us. At that moment, we came upon a couple in a little car with the hood up and the radiator steaming.

And here is us, with extra coolant...and we told them what we had just been talking about and how good God was that He allowed us to help them out.